


Wonderland

by snowynight



Category: Power Man and Iron Fist (Comics)
Genre: Canon Character of Color, Don't Have to Know Canon, Gen, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery, POV Character of Color
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-23
Updated: 2011-01-23
Packaged: 2017-10-15 00:06:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/154985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowynight/pseuds/snowynight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luke thinks it should be easy to take on the bodyguard case. He has never been so wrong</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wonderland

He ran through the corridor to a sturdy wooden door, hoping to find a way out, but when he opened the door, he recognized the marble water fountain ahead was the exact one he walked into two doors before. He chose another door, and hear faint rap music. Following the music he walked through a bizarre showcase of broken robots and machines to a metal door at the end, which led to ... another door. He came across numerous doors: big one, small one, round one square one, red one, black one, but none led to an exit. _How can he escape?_

***

“You are Heroes for Hire, right? You can do everything?” a nervous sounding guy asked. 

Luke replied, “Only for legal stuff. We’re not criminals.” 

“It’s definitely legal. I need help, I need help immediately!” To Luke’s horror, the guy sobbed.

“See you at our office,” Luke said.

***

Walking through doors and doors, he caught laughing, shouting, and singing, bringing him hope at first but they remained out of his reach, taunting him with cruel promise.

***

“I need your help.” Their client said, with tired red-rimmed eyes and slumped shoulders. His clothes was ruffled, and even Luke noticed the smell. 

“How can we help you?” Luke asked.

“There’re people in green hats. A man with green hat approached me several days ago, saying that his friend in green hat will punch me, cut me into pieces, and drop me into the river. I know he’s not joking. I know. I need protection. Too many people with green hats on the street. I can’t avoid them all.”

Luke exchanged a glance with Danny. _Is this man serious?_ Clearly the client wasn’t stable. “We ask for a high fee. Can you afford it?”

The man pulled a fat wallet out of his coat, and threw all the banknotes inside it with shaking hands. “I will pay you everything!”

***

He walked to the end of the corridor, and he stretched his hand, half expected to open another door, but there was none. Instead there was an unyielding brick wall ahead. He turned back, wanting to go through the previous door he passed through.

There was none.

***

Luke’s client holed up in his own flat, half spilling wine out of his glass. “I tell you, the people in green hats are a legion. They’re everywhere. They're your boss, your colleague, your neighbours, your friends...”

Luke feigned interest in him, and wondered why he took this job. He drew the short straw and took the first shift. But now it seemed that his client needed a strait jacket rather than a body guard.

Luke’s client handed a glass to him. “Drink, I can only trust a man who drink.” Luke want to refuse, but the client was very stubborn, so he drank. 

***

Stranded in now where, his heart beat faster. The air grew thinner. Cold wind assaulted him. Sweat dropped from his forehead despite the chill. Footsteps were approaching.

***

Danny was so focused on the newspaper that he didn’t notice Luke entering the office. Luke walked behind him and stomped on his shoulder. “What’re you reading?”

Danny jumped. “When‘re you so sneaky? The New York Ripper stroke again, all over the headline.”

"An unoriginal rip-off” Luke said, “Who did the scum kill this time?”

“A man called John Heathbone. The newspaper said his sister found him, and the scene was... A Homicide cop passed out when he saw that,” he lowered his voice, “You know what’s so scary? The worst wounds on the victim are self-inflicted..”

“I surely hope the police will get him soon. How many did he kill now?”

“Eight in a week. The police suspects more victims. The detective said,...”

“You would think that there’re so many costumed freak here, they should have got him by now.”

“So you want to get involved?”

“Hell not. We have a job to do. Listen...”

**

He retreated to the wall, to get away from... from this. There was no language to describe the … looming thing before him. It smelt wrong. It sounded wrong. It looked wrong. There was so many wrong in it that... His hair stood up. His eyes was stretched open. 

Pain attacked him. He thought of the time when he had been so desperate that he had agreed to the scientist’s experiment, the pain he had felt when the skin had been stretched and torn and broke, the way his bone had creaked and linked and broke and then reformed again, the pain that he had sworn would kill him again and again, but it was a child’s game compared to now. 

He threw his head and banged it against the wall, to give him some relief from the pain. But it was everlasting. And the thing hadn’t done anything to him yet. Not yet. Its sole presence was causing harm. He wanted to faint. Consciousness was a curse now. But he couldn’t. He was deprived of the last relief. 

There was a new voice. At first he didn’t notice it. But the voice was getting more insistent. “Say a name!” it shouted, “Say a name!” He still couldn’t pay any attention to it, and the voice now had more pleading. “Say a name, please. Do you remember me?” the voice pleaded. “Please remember me.” 

“Luke, you must remember me.”

Yes, He is Luke, and the voice is...

“Danny?” His throat was as dry as the desert, but he managed to make a word.

Luke found himself in Danny’s arms, and Danny was laughing and crying. “You're all right!” he shouted, “Don’t scare me like that again!” He held Luke so tight that Luke nearly couldn’t breathe. 

Luke whispered, “What’s happened?”

“You should give him space. He needs to rest,” another authoritative voice interrupted. 

“Sorry, Luke,” Danny said sheepishly, then he helped Luke to settled in a hard chair. Luke still felt weak and the residual pain made him wince, but he around and noticed that he was in someone’s study. There were stacks and stacks of books on the bookshelf. 

Luke raised his head --- Why was it so difficult?--- and saw Doctor Strange, looking grim. Although Luke still could not grasp what exactly happened, but considering that he was in Strange’s library, Strange must have helped him. 

“Thank you.”

“Not all all. Your friend is a great help here,” Strange said, “He was frantic.”

Danny smiled with a blush. “You don’t know how I was worried .

Luke looked at Danny and Strange again. Danny didn’t know Strange, and there’s no ways Strange just let a stranger buzz in his sanctuary, so for Danny to find Strange... ”You’re a buddy,” he said wholeheartedly. “But can anyone tell me what’s happened?”

“You saw something that should be forbidden to mortals.” Strange only said. Luke knew him enough that he knew it would be futile to ask further. He could ask Danny later, anyway. He stood up and found that his legs were too shaking to support him. Danny quickly held him up. It was a bit embarrassing.

Luke and Danny thanked and said goodbye to Doctor Strange. When they walked out, the sun shone one them, like every other day. Luke felt dizzy. He thought he would have many sleepless night from now on.

“Let’s go and grab some burgers,” he said, putting aside his memory. 

“Let’s go.” Danny agreed. When they walked to their favourite diner, a man with a green hat passed by them.


End file.
